


Uncharted: Finding Ubar (Chapter 4: Desert Journey)

by UnchartedPerils42



Series: Uncharted: Finding Ubar [5]
Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Damsel in Distress, Dark, Gen, Mummification, Non Consensual Bondage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:40:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24008995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnchartedPerils42/pseuds/UnchartedPerils42
Summary: After crashing the supply plane, Nate ends up having to survive in the Saudi desert...Meanwhile, the Hermetic Order gets to work pillaging Ubar of its riches.
Relationships: Katherine Marlowe/Talbot, Nathan Drake & Victor Sullivan, Nathan Drake/Salim
Series: Uncharted: Finding Ubar [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714111
Kudos: 2





	Uncharted: Finding Ubar (Chapter 4: Desert Journey)

**Author's Note:**

> Note-As of approximately 130 AM EST on September 1st, 2020, this chapter of Finding Ubar should be pretty much rewritten and ready to go. If there's any mistakes, I'll go back and do the usual. Enjoy!
> 
> December 4th, 2020-Edits galore, especially with the last bit after Salim rescues Nate.
> 
> December 18th-Editing continues!

** Near the plane crash in the Rub ‘al Khali desert, Saudi Arabia **

****

Luckily for Nate, when he went flying out of the plane, he encountered one of the many supply boxes floating down to the desert sands and latched onto it. The box finally landed on the desert sands less than a mile from the smoking wreckage. 

“Okay. Gotta think… Keep my head. I’ll just head to the wreckage and see what I can find. Maybe some water… Something.” Nate panted to himself as he walked the desert towards the wreckage.

Nate walked down the first of countless sandhills to the wreckage. It was a horrible sight with parts and pieces scattered everywhere not to mention the dozen-plus bodies of Marlowe’s agents and their guns lying in the sand.

“Perfect. Here we go…Sully is likely dead. Elena is kidnapped by Marlowe. Once again, great start Nate. All right. Hating the sand. Okay… If I could just find some water, some water would be good. Hopefully a well.” Nate sighed in frustration, already beginning to get fatigued by the intense desert sun.

Nate grabbed one of the AKs stuck in the sand and headed off into the vast Arabian desert…

** 3+ hours later… **

****

Nate had been ambling in the desert, unsure of where he was really going or if he was making any progress towards Ubar.

Suddenly, Nate couldn’t believe it. He had actually come upon a well.

“Oh, thank God. Bring it on up. I don’t care if it’s cold or not.” Nate said in anxious excitement, desperate for any and every type of relief from the heat as he pulled the rope attached to the bottom of the well with a bucket in hand.

But to his disappointment, the bucket was empty.

“Goddamnit. Oh, shit… you gotta be kidding me Now what?” Nate sighed as he wandered further into the endless desert.

****

** 6 additional hours later…. **

****

****

It was full moonlight and Nate found himself still countlessly wandering the desert.

Nate looked up to the night sky, just like the Arabians did hundreds of years earlier to navigate. He could instantly pinpoint both the stars Orion and The Big Dipper.

“All right… Where are you, Sully? Where are you? Ah, come on, Nate. Okay, there’s, there’s Orion. There’s The Big Dipper. Ah… shit. Should’ve been in the Navy.” He sighed, staring into the sky one last time before fainting into the sand….

** Ubar, the next morning **

The next morning, the Hermetic Order was getting to work exploring and looting the utopic city of whatever ancient valuables it had to offer.

Marlowe was watching her army work on the center of the bridge overlooking the lower planes of the city. Talbot then climbed up from a ladder on the left side of the bridge, muck, and dirt all over his reduced robes, now down to just his white and blue dress shirt with his red tie removed and his dress pants. 

“Marlowe. This vessel is nowhere to be found. You sure it's here?” he asked worryingly.

Marlowe then sighed in a low angry tone.

“William Talbot, don't you dare question my leadership. I'm sure of it. If's it’s not on the top floor of the city, it’s bound to be in the depths below. Just got to dig deeper. Do your bloody job and no sloppiness this time. I want what is mine!” she demanded to Talbot.

“Yes Madam Marlowe, I understand. But you do know I hate ruining my robes. I'm lucky I'm not wearing my full suit or my tie. Still ruining my bloody dress shirt and dress pants. Not to mention my loafers. An elite gentleman like myself doesn't deserve this muck onto me!" Talbot sighed before climbing back down into the depths of the city.

"Whatever, bloody fool. Obsessed with his cleanliness. He doesn't understand that in this tomfoolery you have to get down and dirty. I raised him better than that...what a shame." sighed Marlowe in disappointment as she walked up some ancient stairs on her right to a platform on the right side of the city. Hanging from the top side of the platform was an unconscious Elena, tied upside down to the roof of the platform in mummy wraps linked by a rope to the roof.

Marlowe sat down on a chair next to a coffee table and poured herself a glass of tea. She then snapped her fingers and suddenly, Elena slowly woke up from her slumber.

“mmmm…..huh? What happened? Where am I?” she panicked.

“Hello, Elena. Nice to see you again my dear. Hope you had a nice slumber.” Marlowe smirked evilly.

“Let me go you witch!” yelled Elena in tears once again, struggling and dangling around in her new bondage trap with it slowly began to wrap more and more of her legs onwards.

“Silence princess!” Marlowe commanded her.

“You won’t silence me, you old witch. Please, Madam Marlowe, let me go! Can’t you see what you are doing is wrong! Unleashing evil poison onto the world to mentally enslave people into doing your bidding! Nate and Sully are on their way right here right now and they’re gonna kick your asses!” Elena cried desperately, still struggling in their air to get free as she was getting more and more entombed in her mummified bondage.

HAHAHA!!!! How undignified Elena? Do you really think that cocky little shit survived that bloody plane crash with him and all my men? The end of the road is here for him and Victor. And so is it for you...Trust me, if he does come here, will he have a bloody surprise…Time for you to be stored until Nathan and Victor show up my dear. That’s if they show up! TATA!” laughed Marlowe as she then pressed a button on the wall lifting Elena back up into the roof tomb.

“You wouldn’t dare, you sadistic witch! Someone, please help! Som-MMMMMMPPPPPPHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” screamed Elena before being gagged by the wraps as they wrapped up to her neck and mouth around her face with her still dangling to get loose. But it was to no avail as she could only muffle crying screams before being entombed once again within the roof.

** Meanwhile, in the desert… **

****

****

Nate had woken up to a man in the distance. Or so he thought.

“I don’t know who I’m talking to. I’m exhausted. Sully! Thank God!” he yelled, running down yet another desert sandhill only to find that it was a mirage.

“Dammit. Thought it was him. Just gotta keep going…” he sighed as he once again wandered off.

Suddenly, at this point on his endless journey, Nate kept hearing words from Marlowe entrenched in his head.

“What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow out of this story rubbish...” she began.

As Marlowe started her poem in his head, Nate had once again come upon a well.

But much to his disappointment, once again it was the same well from a day or two earlier.

“Dammit. Been going around in circles…Marlowe, stop taunting me!” he yelled in desperation but her words continued.

“…Son of man, you cannot say, or guess. For you know only a heap of broken images. Where the sun beats, and the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, and the dry stone no sound of water. Only there is shadow under this red rock, come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different. From either your shadow at morning striding behind you or your shadow at evening rising to meet you, I will show you fear in a handful of dust.” Her poem finished inside his exhausted head as ironically through mirages, her words become truer than ever, ending that evening crawling on the sand.

“Just want to keep… Oh, God… I just wanna lay down. Can’t lay down, just can’t lay down.” Nate sighed, before collapsing once again due to exhaustion.

** The next day…. **

****

****

Nate woke up that afternoon to what seemed like a familiar voice once again…

“Nate. Nate” said Sully.

“Sully…” Nate whispered.

“Wake up,” Sully replied.

“Help me,” begged Nate.

“Let me help you. Come on. Give me your hand.” Sully said as he seemingly lifted Nate off the sand.

I’ve been… I’ve been looking for you. I couldn’t find you. I don’t know how long I’ve been out here. I think. Sully? Sully…dammit.” Nate mumbled before realizing that it was yet another mirage.

Nate then looked downhill and saw what appeared to be a village.

“No way. Could it be? Sully! Sully, I’m coming! Please don’t be a mirage!” Nate yelled in exhaustion as he ambled barely down the hill and to his sheer surprise, the ruins were real!

“Thank god. Shit. It’s a ghost town…but still. Something…” he sighed as he came upon the entry to the apparent ghost town.

At least it’s real. If I could just find some water… some water would be good. Let’s try through here. Didn’t need that.” Nate said.

Oh, thank God, a well. Okay.” He said as he found another well. But once again to his disappointment, the bucket didn’t yield any water.

“Okay. Damn it! Damn it, it’s dry.” Nate said as he jumped down into the well.

Nate then finally saw a small puddle of water within the well’s sand.

“Here we go. Oh shit, it’s undrinkable. Okay, don’t give up. There’s gotta be something useful here.” Nate sighed in disappointment as he sipped the water only to spit it out due to being saltwater, unfit to drink.

Nate then walked out of the building through a broken door. Suddenly he heard voices and got down onto the ground.

Out the door around and on the ruins facing Nate was one of Marlowe’s squads, sent to look for the wreckage.

“Squad 5, come in. Any sign of the wreckage or Nathan Drake?” asked one of their radios.

“No sir. Not a single thing boss. Only a ghost town…” their leader sitting perched on the top of the ruins.

“You know what to do. Capture or kill him at all costs. No exceptions.” was the radio’s response.

“Oh shit…they know I’m here. Oh crap. Sully…” Nate whispered before being seen by the squad.

Nate then punched the closest guard out of commission and grabbed his Para 9 pistol before leaping to cover on a block to his left.

“Dammit. Likely sent to look for the wreckage. I’m trapped down here.” Nate sighed as the leader fired his M9 assault rifle at him from above.

“It’s Drake! Kill him!” yelled the squad leader.

The other 4-5 agents charged at Nate with M9s, SPAS12s, and Para 9s all in hand. But as usual, Nate defeated them with ease.

“Ah crap! This is getting ridiculous! Enough of you assholes!” yelled Nate as he climbed on top of the ruins and kicked the leader out of commission.

Nate then jumped down and climbed a wall within the ruined fort only to quickly hide behind another platform, seeing lasers from multiple snipers across him on the platforms overlooking this section of the ghost town.

“Dammit. Sniper fire. How many men did Marlowe send? Gotta even the odds. Hum….” wondered Nate as he looked to his left above him and saw the first sniper agent patrolling.

Nate listened to their conversation.

“I don't believe you lads. Did they really find the bloody city? Are you sure it’s all magic like Miss Marlowe says?” asked the first sniper. 

“Don’t question Madam Marlowe’s orders or intentions mate. I’m telling you they found it. It’s as beautiful as they say it is. An oasis.” replied the second sniper who turned to his left as Nate stealthily took out the first sniper agent with a chokehold, dragging his body out of sight and grabbing his T-Bolt bolt action sniper rifle before getting back into cover.

As Nate got closer to the other agents, the conversations continued.

“Anyone get the creeps about Mr. Talbot?” asked the third sniper. 

“Marlowe’s son? Rumor has it Madam plucked him out of boarding school when he was fifteen or whatever? I don’t know. Claims to be into the black arts of trickery and deceit. Gives me willies just thinking about that agent he drugged back in France…” the second replied. 

“He drugged one of us? He wouldn’t!” a fourth agent with an RPG exclaimed. 

Nate had snuck up to the bottom of the main platform. Suddenly, he was spotted by the RPG agent plus the rest of the squad.

“Crap!” Nate yelled as he avoided the rocket and sniped the RPG only to get pinned by the remaining snipers. 

But with seemingly no effort, Nate sniped the remaining snipers and took care of the other 3-4 agents patrolling with his pistol.

Yet, suddenly a truck came from out of nowhere and drove onto the pillar, pinning down Nate with its MG fire.

“Ah, crap. This is it, isn’t it?” Nate panicked before running to the RPG lying on the ground and blasting the pillar from underneath the truck, destroying both it and the pillar’s walls in the process.

Just as Nate had cleared it, yet more agents rushed the town. But in the distance, Nate could both hear and barely see horses with hooded riders come into the fray.

“Ah great. Who are these guys?” Nate yelled in confusion as he saw these new opponents kill the agents in front of him. Then their leader in a purple hooded outfit rode up to Nate with his gun in hand.

“English?” demanded the leader.

“What? English. I speak English…” Nate explained as he briefly let down his gun with the leader then drawing his in on him. 

“No, no, no, no. No, no. Don’t shoot me. Please, don’t shoot me.” Nate begged the leader then drew his gun away from Nate before giving a command to one of his riders in Arabic. The rider then grabbed Nate onto his horse.

The riders and Nate were off into the outskirts of the town, fighting more agents in the process.

Suddenly, a sniper had killed Nate’s rider, forcing him to take reins on the horse.

“What the hell? Oh, no. No, no! Oh, shit. I gotta get the hell out of here!” Nate panicked. 

The purple horseman then insisted on Nate following him despite numerous snipers and RPGs waiting above the exit ahead.

“Yellah! Trust me and hurry, stay close, American! This way! Through here! Sniper! Snipers, look out! RPG! RPG!” he yelled as Nate and his men easily dispatched their opponents before riding off into the desert away from the town.

** That evening; the stranger’s desert camp **

****

****

That evening, the stranger had dropped Nate off at his tribe's camp. Nate was sitting by the fire enjoying a cup of tea as the stranger appeared.

“You are far from home, American.” He smiled at Nate. 

“ _ Shukraan _ . Thank you.” Nate gestured to the stranger as he poured him more tea.

“You do not belong out here. Any of you.” the stranger said.

“You spared me. Why didn’t you just kill me along with the others?” Nate asked. 

“That would’ve been impolite. You were in distress. Even an enemy must be fed and sheltered. Are you two my enemy, Americans?” questioned the stranger.

“Wait a minute…you know. But how?” Nate continued in befuddlement.

“Alright, the gig’s up kid. Salim, he’s figuring it out.” Sully smiled as he came into the main encampment.

Nate couldn't believe that Sully had survived the crash and froze in place. 

“No way…Sully? But how? When? Why? First of all, are you real?” Nate gasped as Sully then thumped him in the head with his thumb.

“Kid, of course, I’m damn real. I’m standing here with ya, aren’t I?" Sully laughed as Nate without hesitation hugged him.

“Alright kid. I got a story for ya. Gather around. May I have some more, Salim?” Sully asked as Salim poured him tea before the trio gathered around the fire.

"So, I'm stranded in the desert, dying looking for something to drink. I'm passed out in the sand for nearly two days before waking up in some ruins not far from that abandoned village, captured by one of Marlowe's death squads. I guess that she sent them to salvage the wreckage. Out of nowhere, this fine guy and his men show up, take care of them, pick me up, and bring me here. Mr. Salim is the leader of this Bedouin tribe. They're nomads in this desert. His group in particular knows about the secret of Iram, Ubar, whatever the hell. I told him about our quest to stop Marlowe and how they have Elena. He can fill you in on the rest..." Sully explained, pointing to Salim. 

“That’s amazing Sully. I can’t believe it...” Nate smiled in amazement.

“Mr. Sullivan, thank you for the explanation and gratitude. The English Order comes looking for Iram of the Pillars, my friends. Three thousand years ago, King Solomon commanded the power of the Djinn. Demons, born of smokeless fire. Until they rebelled. He imprisoned them in a vessel of brass, and cast it into the city depths. Iram became a place of evil, cursed by the spirits of the Djinn. The English must not reach Iram. If the Djinn is unleashed...." Salim explained. 

"We don't have much time, do we?" Nate asked Salim. 

"No. But we are outnumbered, my American friends. They have greater numbers. We can’t attack them in the open. My scouts have tracked them outside of the city in the last two days. Oh, and Mr. Drake, you do happen to be descended from the English explorer Francis Drake, is that correct?" Salim replied, curious about Nate's backstory.

"Yes, Mr. Salim. My mother always had a theory that my brother Samuel and I happened to be descended from him. History says he had no children. But here's the twist in it. He likely had children, just not with his wife back in England." Nate explained his theory. 

"Ah, very interesting, Mr. Drake. Tell me something, why do you, Mr. Sullivan, and the English come to the Rub' al Khali, hum?" Salim asked curiously. 

"It's a long story. More or less, Iram of the Pillars was one of his many expeditions tasked to him by his Queen, Elizabeth while going to circumnavigate the globe. We've been on his trails on and off over the last twenty years involving his exploits, including his quest for Iram. Anyway, we went to Sanaa in Yemen a few days ago, and we find out that he sailed straight to Arabia after finding the East Indies. We stumble upon a chamber under the old market of the city that he found. He went in it, only to find something horrifying that convinced him to drop all traces of his voyage and flee back to England. And we're trying to finish his quest." Nate explained. 

"I'm fascinated and impressed by your knowledge, my friend. I'd like to think of Francis Drake as an innocent pawn in his queen's scheme to control their enemies." Salim replied. 

"What do you mean, Salim?" Nate asked curiously. 

"Your friend here tells me that the English who invade our land are descended from the same Order the English Queen formed to find Iram. Is this true?" Salim replied. 

"Yes, it's true. Queen Elizabeth and her closest advisors had various secret societies and orders used to control their enemies through espionage, deception, and fear. And Francis was in on it. Katherine Marlowe is the leader of the modern Hermetic Order. Four hundred plus years on." Nate explained further. 

"That's bad news, Mr. Drake. But we know about Iram of the Pillars. It is passed down from generation to generation in our tribe being responsible for guarding Iram and the Djinn from evil. Yes, your friend here made us aware of the English Order and their evil intentions as well as them crossing the Rub’ al Khali and already finding the city. Oh, and they happen to have your wife in the city?" Salim said, gesturing to Nate and pointing at Sully, still sipping on his tea.

"Yes. She's with them. She's innocent. But they don't see it that way. They'll kill her." Nate sighed. 

"My friend, we won't let that happen. Tonight, we rest. Tomorrow, we’ll enter the canyons and take them there. We ride at dawn.” Salim smiled as he walked away from the campfire and the duo.

"Thanks, Salim." Sully shook his hand.

"Sully, I don't know what to say..." Nate huffed in disbelief. 

"Look, kid. Sometimes, you gotta ask for help in this life. And who better to help us than the locals, right? Get some shuteye. We got a long day tomorrow...." Sully said as he got up and patted Nate on the back before walking away. 

To be continued…(Uncharted: Finding Ubar)


End file.
